System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Sir Freddie Laker, Business man
August 06, 1922 - February 09, 2006
British businessman who said "Come fly with me", Sir Freddie Laker has died in Miami. He was 83. Considered a business maverick, Laker pioneered low-cost air travel, in the 1970s with Laker Airways' cut-price Skytrain service from Britain to the USA.
Laker Skytrain planes began flying from London to New York in September 1977 were the original walk-on, no-frills flights. They attracted huge public support and became the model for other low-cost airlines such as Virgin, Easyjet and Ryanair.
Born in Canterbury, Kent, Laker began his career in aviation at the age of 16 by sweeping floors at the Short Brothers aircraft factory in Rochester, southeast England, in 1938. After the war, He made a fortune supplying cargo planes for use in the Berlin airlift in 1948. In 1960, he went to work for British United Airways as a manager for five years. It was here that he gained experience in airline management.
By 1966, Laker had formed Laker Airways and operated holiday charters, using secondhand airliners from BOAC. Laker was committed to providing economic air travel right from the start. He came up with numerous ways for people to save money - passengers were required to buy tickets on the day of travel, pay for their meals separately and he even got some of the more bizarre restrictions on charter flights to the US by offering tickets to "affinity groups". Back then, an airline was allowed to carry transatlantic passengers so long as they were in a group and belonged to a club. It was only a matter of time before the authorities cracked down. In 1971, there were some bizarre scenes at Gatwick Airport with Laker turning up with his lawyer and a Bible. His passengers were asked to swear allegiance to their make-believe clubs. It took another six years of license applications, court cases and government objections, but when Skytrain took to the skies in 1977, it broke the mould of air travel, offering a one-way fare of $100 between London and New York. By the end of its first year, Skytrain had made 3 million and the number of people flying to the US from Britain had increased by 30 per cent. Laker's achievements were recognized and he was knighted in 1978.
Eventually, the more established airlines responded in kind by lowering their fares which resulted in the demise of Skytrain in 1982. Thousands of passengers were stranded around the world and Laker aircraft flying from Britain were recalled in mid-flight. The company owed over 250 million pounds ($470 million) and Laker was faced with the wrath of the press. In 1983, he left Britain and set up residence in the Bahamas. Over time, he managed to clear his name, repay his creditors and he even got back into flying, but on a much smaller scale, flying only a network of routes between the Bahamas and the American mainland.
A true pioneer, Laker paved the way for others. His longtime friend, Sir Richard Branson, has been quoted as saying, "Virgin Atlantic couldn't have happened without him. Freddie was a pioneer and it's always easier to follow a pioneer. He gave me a lot of very useful advice when I set up Virgin Atlantic 21 years ago. Virgin Atlantic named one of our planes Spirit of Sir Freddie in recognition of our respect for him. He was a larger than life figure, with a wicked sense of humour and a great friend."
